


Loyalty

by Hanaasbananas



Series: The Sun Prince [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And decides to do something about it, Gen, In which zuko realises how bad the fire nation is a few years early, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko's crew loves him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:07:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27661790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanaasbananas/pseuds/Hanaasbananas
Summary: The prince was half his age, had looked even younger with his shaved head and half of his face puckered pink and angry with the burn scar. He’d looked like a light breeze would knock him over. And he wanted to go against the Fire Lord’s direct orders?Please.Tazee liked an adventure as much as the next man, but even he knew a doomed endeavour when he saw one.Zuko gives his crew a choice.
Series: The Sun Prince [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006455
Comments: 4
Kudos: 329





	Loyalty

**Author's Note:**

> Ok this part got super long so I cut it in half because it works better that way, but in part three we get some zutara! Yay! 
> 
> This took me a little longer to get out because my laptop decided to stop working the day after I posted part one and I had to order a bluetooth keyboard for my tablet. And let me just say, I HATE using google docs on my tablet because I can't have multiple documents open at the same time it's v. v. frustrating. 
> 
> Anyway, please excuse any typo's i'm working on a smaller keyboard and don't always notice + this hasn't been beta read lmao. Let me know if you see any though, so I can fix them. 
> 
> Enjoy!

It had seemed simple to him in the moment. Sitting across from Uncle, his shorn hair clutched in his fist, as he’d haltingly explained his decision, it had felt so _easy._ Seeing that Uncle _understood_ why he had to do this and was _proud_ of him for it had strengthened his resolve, convinced him that he was doing the right thing.

But now in the light of day, standing on deck to address his assembled crew, Zuko feels the first stirrings of panic in his chest.

These men don’t respect him. He knows that well enough. He had spent half of his time on the ship in a feverish haze and the other half yelling and making demands, cementing their image of him as a spoilt royal brat.

(He doesn’t know about the rumours that even his crew had heard before they left Caldera. Doesn’t know how many of these men took turns sitting at his bedside with Uncle, looking upon him, so small in the infirmary bed, half of his face swaddled in bandages and the other half inflamed with fever, and asked themselves why they were following a Firelord who could inflict such a punishment on his own son.) 

Even with Uncle at his back, Zuko is painfully aware of the breeze that tickles his newly bald head, of the sea spray that stings at the exposed scar tissue— pink, and raw— on his face. Mostly, he’s aware suddenly, of how _small_ he is compared to the rest of the crew.

These men are so much bigger than him. Zuko is fourteen now —almost a man— but he’s weakened from his illness, and with the peripheral vision in his left eye gone to shit, he knows he wouldn’t be able to take any of them on in a fight. Not to mention his already mediocre firebending has sputtered pathetically out to almost nothing.

Keeping his hands clasped firmly behind his back, Zuko speaks, hoping fervently that they can’t hear the tremor in his voice. 

“We all know the task my fathe-the Firelord gave me was impossible; a fool's errand. As such, I have chosen not to complete it.” 

The men exchange glances, shifting uncomfortably as Zuko continues, swallowing roughly. “I don’t expect you to follow me. If anything, I expect you all to leave. We will most likely be branded traitors to the Fire Nation, there may even be bounties set on our heads and I will not demand your loyalty. If any of you wish to leave I will not begrudge you your choice and you may disembark when we reach the next port in three days time. But—” he looks across at them all, taking in their impassive faces. 

“But,” Zuko licks his lips, “we have all seen the effects of this war. On our people, on the other nations. This conflict has been going on for _too long._ ” Zuko has the full attention of his crew now and he stands tall, thinking about his next words carefully. 

If his crew decides a dead prince is better than a traitor prince then he doesn’t stand a chance. They could finish him off without even breaking a sweat, though he likes to think he’d make it at least a _little_ hard for them.

Uncle can’t keep an eye on him forever after all, and all it would take is a single moment looking in the other direction and Zuko could find himself with a knife piercing through the soft flesh of his belly, sliding under his ribs to end his life; with a blade cutting across his throat as he sleeps.

He should probably move his bed so that his blind side doesn’t face the door. 

“There is no use searching for an Avatar who can bring balance; not when he hasn’t been seen in a hundred years.” Zuko says finally. “What we _can_ do is bring aid to those who need it. The Fire Nation has taken enough from other nations; it’s time we start to give back.”

* * *

In the end, only five crew members leave. 

Tazee resists the urge to look back at the ship one last time, grabbing the strap of his satchel and hitching it up over his shoulder before following behind the others. 

Though they’d all left the ship individually, Mero had suggested that they all meet at a tavern after sundown. As the oldest in their group, he was the only one who’d been to this particular town before and they’d all agreed to his plan. Better to stick together after all. 

The deck is empty anyway, and Tazee is glad for it, remembering Prince Zuko’s promise to the crew the night before: _“once we dock, we will all stay below deck in our quarters for six hours, allowing those who want to leave to do so without judgement.”_

He’d exchanged an uneasy glance with Yizan at the time, hardly daring to believe it would be that easy. The prince had looked so _earnest_ though, assuring them that they would not be followed, or punished for their desertion, that Tazee had almost changed his mind. 

Almost, but not quite. 

Despite the prince’s reassurances, he hurries down the gangplank, half expecting to be struck down when his back is turned, but the ship remains still and silent and once he steps foot on dry land, he blends easily into the crowds at the small Earth Kingdom port. Even so, he doubts he’ll be able to fully relax until he’s far away from this town, from the _Wani_ behind him. 

“Taz!” he whirls around at the voice, hand flying to his side to grip the handle of his sword as he scans the crowd until he sees Yizan standing by a fruit and vegetable stall, waving at him over the heads of the crowd, an apple in one hand. “Hey Tazee, get over here!” 

Relaxing his stance, he walks over to his crew mate, snatching the apple from Yizan and biting into it before he can protest. “I thought we were meeting at the bar?” 

“Yeah, everyone’s already waiting.” Yizan turns abruptly, cutting a path through the crowd “they sent me to get you since the place is hard to find. You got out okay then?”

Tazee glowers up at the taller man, hurrying to keep up as he strides ahead of him. “What, you thought I wouldn’t?” 

“I didn’t say that.” Yazin rolls his eyes, slowing down and falling into step beside him. “I was just asking.” 

“Well it was fine. No-one to see, just like the prince said.” He grouses, deciding not to mention how glad he was for the lack of audience; how glad he was that he didn’t have to look Prince Zuko in the face as he left. 

“It’s okay to feel guilty you know.”

“I’m not” he huffs at Yazin’s disbelieving glance, “It’s not _guilt.”_

If anything, it was common sense. The prince was half his age, had looked even younger with his shaved head and half of his face puckered pink and angry with the burn scar. He’d looked like a light breeze would knock him over. And he wanted to go against the Fire Lord’s direct orders? _Please._ Tazee liked an adventure as much as the next man, but even he knew a doomed endeavour when he saw one. 

When news of the prince’s actions reached Caldera, the entire crew of the _Wani_ would be named wanted criminals. He knew this without a shadow of a doubt. They’d probably never set foot in the Fire Nation ever again, and sure, those guys were willing to make that sacrifice, but not him. Not when he had to get back to Heena. 

He thinks uncomfortably of the day Prince Zuko had addressed them with the changed plans; of the determined set to his shoulders, and easy acceptance in his eyes when he’d spoken of not expecting loyalty from his crew, and the conviction in his voice as he spoke of trying to do good, to right some of the wrongs the Fire Nation had committed. 

At the time, he’d thought to himself that when he was older, that boy would be one hell of a leader. He _believed_ in what he was saying, and he made others believe in it too. People would follow him to the ends of the earth, if he asked them to. If Heena wasn’t waiting for him back home, Tazee probably would have let himself be swayed to join the cause too.

And okay, maybe he feels a _little_ bad about not sticking around to help, but really, how would he have done that anyway? As a slightly above average fighter, he’s not exactly essential to the smooth running of the ship and it’s crew. 

Yazin is still talking beside him, unaware that Tazee had zoned out completely, and only just catches the tail end of his sentence. “—discussing it, and we all have reasons to leave but that doesn’t mean we _disagree_ with the prince, you know?” 

“...Right” Tazee agrees slowly, “where exactly, are you going with this?” 

Yazin shrugs, a small smile playing about his lips. “It’s going to take a while to make our way back to the Fire Nation” he says instead “We’ll be going through many different towns as we go. Towns that might benefit from hearing of Prince Zuko’s mission. Don’t you agree?”

He mulls over Yazin’s words as they finally come to a stop in front of a seedy tavern. He considers the possibilities as they drink late into the night with the others, as Yazin proposes his idea again and Mero talks about all the rumors he’d heard before they’d left Caldera. By the end of the night, the buzz has worn off and Tazee looks around the table at his fellow deserters, all of them nodding seriously as they discuss what to do. 

He thinks again of a young prince who is too kind for his own good, a prince who has survived attempts to burn the goodness out of him and still thinks he can change the world. Who knows? Maybe he will.

Tazee can’t help it. He finds himself nodding along with the others, a grin pulling involuntarily at his lips as he laughs under his breath at what his life has become. 

It seems there’s a way he can help after all. 


End file.
